Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell performing live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2005
Background information
Birth name
Christopher John Boyle
Born
July 20, 1964 (1964-07-20)
Origin
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genre(s)
Alternative metal, alternative rock,
grunge, heavy metal, hard rock, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, vocalist
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass,
mandolin, banjo
Voice type(s)
Low Tenor
Years active
1984–present
Label(s)
SST Records (1984-1988)
Sub Pop/A&M (1989-2000)
Epic (2001-2005)
Suretone/Interscope (2007)
Mosley Music/Interscope
(2008-present)
Associated
acts
Soundgarden, Center for Disease
Control Boys, Temple of the Dog,
Alice Mudgarden, M.A.C.C.,
Audioslave
Website
www.chriscornell.com
Chris Cornell
(born Christopher John
Boyle on July 20, 1964) is an American rock
musician best known as the lead singer and
songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden
(1984–1997) and Audioslave (2001–2007),
and for his numerous solo works and
soundtrack contributions (1998–present). He
is known for his wide four octave vocal
range,[1][2] and powerful vocal belting tech-
nique. He was the founder and frontman for
Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band
dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew
Wood. He has released three solo studio al-
bums, Euphoria Morning (1999), Carry On
(2007), and Scream (2009).
Biography
Early life
Cornell was born and raised in Seattle, Wash-
ington and attended Shorewood High School.
His parents are Ed Boyle (a pharmacist from
an Irish Catholic background) and Karen Cor-
nell (an accountant from a Jewish back-
ground).[3][4] He has five siblings; older
brothers Peter and Patrick, and younger sis-
ters Katy, Suzy, and Maggie.
Cornell spent a two-year period between
the ages of nine and eleven solidly listening
to The Beatles after finding a large collection
of Beatles records abandoned in the base-
ment of a house. He then suffered from a
severe case of clinical depression during his
teenage years, rarely leaving the house. At
one point, he spent